Not sure if it's meant to be dark but I watched this video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1awjmVjTLm8) and I really like this kind of music. Same with the Lachrimae of Dowland. Or Praetorius' Bransles. Well they're dance music so I guess the dark theme is my own interpretation and they're actually renaissance but you know what I mean.

I need some pointers though because I couldn't really find albums that are themed around this kind of music

Well they're dance music so I guess the dark theme is my own interpretation

Not necessarily. Mille Regretz is actually a French chanson, a polyphonic vocal genre of medieval origin which is characterized by the use of so called 'formes fixes', consisting of complex patterns of repetition of poetic verses (with refrain) fixed in different specific forms (chief among them the ballade, rondeau and virelai). Those chansons were not dance pieces, and are mostly malinconic in nature (which i believe is the word you were looking for).

The number of chansons (along with their foreign counterparts, particularly those of Italian origin) written during the middle ages (and early renaissance) is vast, but alas, not well represented in recordings, both in quantity or quality.

That said, there are still many notable exceptions out there which i think will probably be of your satisfaction.

My first recommendation is a newly released collection of chansons by Gilles Binchois performed by the Bjon Schmelzer ensemble which i think is one of the greatest recordings made to date for this type of repertory. Binchois is probably the last truly great master of this form, though there are many other great examples from all the foremost renaissance composers.

Next, Le vray remede damour, a collection of songs composed by Guillaume de Machaut, arguably, the first master of this genre, is another seminal centerpiece for this type of music. This one employs a plethora of different instrumental combinations which results in a greater array of colors compared to the usual viol performances (albeit this was usually the instrument of choice, after the human voice of course).

Matteo da Perugia (also known as 'Perusio'), possibly the greatest of Italian representatives is also another great choice, particularly this recording performed by the great Huelgas Ensemble. Da Perugia is actually a member of the so called 'Ars Subtilior', a group of chansonniers who focused on all sorts of complex rhythmical patterns and explorations, in effect making this the 'avant-garde' of medieval times.

Aside from Mille Regretz, Josquin put out a decent number of chansons, many of which can be found in this recording by the Ensemble Janequin. While the performance is excellent, the ensemble made a few flawed decisions first by cutting out all the repeats and second by setting some of the songs without voice, which recent research suggests was never really the case as previously assumed (Actually, the Machaut disc i mentioned above share some of the same problems but the results work so well it actually works quit well, plus they leave plenty of space for the some of the songs to breath). It's too bad because the melodies are really beautiful, as customary with Josquin. Hopefully some of the more recent ensembles, particularly the Bjon Schmelzer will pick this up and give the music full consideration.

I think this ought to suffice as an introduction, let me know if you are interested in more recommendations.

For actual medieval music that has a heavy sound I would recommend the 12th century composer Perotin. The ECM disc with the Hilliard Ensemble is the main one that is available

And the only disc anybody needs. Personally, i'd argue the heaviest recording of medieval music ever made is Machaut's Messe de Notre Dame as performed by the Ensemble Organum. Rough, rugged and mean as hell, as god intended.

Actually, almost everything the Ensemble Organum recorded is a must have. They are just that good.

I think what OP wants is some recommendations on Renaissance consort music, or, more exactly, consort arrangements of Renaissance polyphony. I'd say go for single albums with music by Agricola, Byrd, Cabezon...Ortiz, Willaert, etc. Or simply go for good anthologies such as the España Antigua box with performances by Jordi Savall, Canto a mi Caballero by Skip Sempe, Io canterei d'amor by Paolo Pandolfoor this beautiful album performed by Hille Perle, Doulce memoire.

Talking of doulce memoire, there is an early music group that goes by exactly this name and their album of Renaissance dance music is really worthwhile, however they are not so much a viol consort as a woodwind band and the music is more grandiose than dark as desired, but all in all a perfect introductory album to this repertory in the great Dorian sound.Most of their other albums were released on Astree or Naive label, and equally good as well.

« Last Edit: February 20, 2009, 11:02:06 AM by Que »

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HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

However, and now I see I didnt stress this enough in my starters post, I'm looking only for instrumental music here. Not singing. I listened to sample music of the albums above I could find and they all contained song.

I love song, I love Josquin, Byrd, Morales, Willaert etc., but this time I'm looking for purely instumental, if possible string instruments only even, like in the YouTube example in my first post.

I love song, I love Josquin, Byrd, Morales, Willaert etc., but this time I'm looking for purely instumental, if possible string instruments only even, like in the YouTube example in my first post.

Yes the recordings of "consort" pieces I recommended above are very much instrumental music - "Doulce memoire" performed by Hille Perl, for example, has mostly one or more viols (like those you saw in the youtube video). Also sixteenth and seventeenth century English composers wrote original works for the viol consort: Byrd, Gibbons, Dowland, Jenkins, Lawes, Locke, Farrabosco, Purcell and so on so forth. Ensembles like Hesperion XX, Fretwork or Phantasm have recorded tons in the kind of music you are looking for. Check them out.

ps. Sorry about the "broken" links above; they are now fixed.

« Last Edit: November 11, 2007, 05:27:59 AM by fl.traverso »

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HIP for all and all for HIP! Harpsichord for Bach, fortepiano for Beethoven and pianoforte for Brahms!

Could you exactly pinpoint some of the instrumental pieces please. I semi-randomly tried some of the samples on the amazon site but some didnt work and the ones that did work were all song.

Most medieval/renaissance instrumental music CDs that I have heard generally feature ensemble as well as ensemble/singer works on the same disc, so it may be difficult to find any without singing. Savall has recorded a lot of Iberian instrumental music, but again, I can't think of any disc without voices included in some pieces. His music making is generally not what could be called "dark" anyway, it's joyous.

The only disc without any singing that I can recall offhand is this one, (and an alternate site). It's generic court music, not too lively sounding. I would also recommend listening to Amazon samples (if there are any) of discs performed by Fretwork, a viol consort which has been recorded many times. This disc may be of interest, but even this has singing on some tracks (but not most of them IIRC)...

Kullervo

Diverging from the "dark" medieval music thread, I thought it would be a good idea to help beginners (like me!) find an adequate foothold in the world of pre-Baroque vocal music. Thus far my listening has been extremely limited to a few scattered pieces by Tallis and Palestrina.

What are some pieces of this period with which no one interested in this sort of music can do without?

Renaissance is so much harder than Medieval due to the sheer amount of surviving stuff Some may disagree, but while excellent full-priced discs should not be ignored, there are enough budget priced ones by very good ensembles to focus just on cheaper discs while you are getting a taste.

Labels like Virgin/Veritas (twofers), Gimell (has some cheap compilations), ASV (tends to sell for relatively low amounts on Amazon Marketplace), Hyperion/Helios, Harmonia Mundi/Musique d'Abord, Naxos and others all have great ensembles and a wide range of music. It sounds like a cop-out to just say investigate the big names on these labels, but such explorative investigation discovers both masterworks and hidden gems, rather than being directed towards the warhorses (although with early music, that term applies much less, given how under-recorded some of the greatest works are). A little list of some of the more prominent composers of the era (and a few suggestions):

Palestrina - Masses (he wrote many, and the quality is quite uniform, making it not worth collecting too many initially), motets (ditto)Byrd - Masses for 3, 4 and 5 voices (it's interesting to compare these to Palestrina's - rather different, and more spare in style)Victoria - RequiemDufay - Masses (IIRC most of the motets are quite early works)Lassus - Most of the (huge amount of surviving) sacred choral music by him seems to be fascinatingTallis - Lamentations of Jeremiah. Many riches to be found in his Latin motetsBinchois - Chansons (there's a very nice Virgin Veritas disc of these, coupled with Lescurel)Gesualdo - MadrigalsJosquin - His entire work is strong, including masses, motets and chansonsOckeghem - Masses and Requiem

Deliberately looking for discs with many different composers on is also a good way to familiarise - there are many of these pick 'n' mix type CDs available. Generally the real "meat" of the genre lays in the motets (and chansons, lieder, madrigals, etc, all slightly varying forms), with masses fewer in number depending on the composers. Lassus and Palestrina have many dozens surviving, Byrd only three.

Edit: super budget collections are rare in this repertoire, but two notable ones are this, and this.

Mark

Put simply, Corey, try just about anything from Naxos' MASSIVE early music series. I've listed a fairly comprehensive selection below (with catalogue numbers), though this isn't everything that's available: I can see on my shelves a further four or five discs from this series which aren't featured below. I've highlighted in red the titles I own: